Charlie Villanueva, a 6-foot-9, 220-pound forward from Blair Academy has entered his name in the NBA draft and is in the process of preparing for his workouts.

If Villanueva is not satisfied with his draft position, he will withdraw his name before the June 19th deadline.

RivalsHoops.com ranked Villanueva as the third best player in the class of 2003 and gave him a perfect five stars. Aside from LeBron James, he might be the most talented player in the class.

Villanueva took an official visit to Kansas in early May and he is hoping to take an unofficial visit to Connecticut before the end of the month. As it stands right now, one of those schools will acquire his services if he is unhappy with his draft status.

“Some of my coaches and I have been talking about taking an unofficial visit to Connecticut, but I have not finalized a date,” Villanueva said. “I hope to take the unofficial visit next week, but I have not decided.”

Villanueva is still a few weeks away from graduation, so he is focusing a lot of his attention on his academics. He also realizes that a difficult challenge awaits him.

Villanueva has openly stated that the NBA has been a lifelong dream of his. He has been athletically gifted with all the tools necessary to make that dream come true, but he will have to put together a great showing during his individual workouts.

“I graduate from Blair Academy on May 24th, so I will get started with my workouts after graduation,” Villanueva said. “Right now I’m hearing that I will be selected in the late first round or early second round, but all this is being said before I’ve completed any workouts.”

“I’ll have an idea of where I stand after the workouts take place,” he added.

If Villanueva decides he is not ready for the NBA, Kansas or Connecticut will be the likely destination. UCLA had been mentioned several weeks ago, but it appears that they are no longer in the mix.

“I really have to give Kansas the advantage right now,” he said. “I’m very familiar with Coach Self and the rest of the staff. They recruited me while they were at Illinois, so we have a great relationship.

“Connecticut is right up there with Kansas,” he added. “They are a school that I really like. Hopefully I can get up to Connecticut for an unofficial visit.”

The deadline for Villanueva to withdraw his name from the NBA draft is June 19th.